Lots and lots of changes...now that I have some free time

I have had the last couple of weeks off while I switch jobs so rather than laying around I decided to get the house moving along a little quicker.

Here are the latest photos. We should be adding bamboo flooring to the first floor in the next week or two leaving us with some small finishing items.



We have decided to open up our shared wall and insulate it with Roxul...giving us a safer fire barrier and an excellent sound barrier. Lots of dust though.






Here I have started building a bench in our front foyer, I have cantilevered it out of the wall. It gives us a place to sit down and tie our shoes.








Here is the finished bench, I have clad it with bamboo flooring and added some lighting under it.







We have added strips of MDF (medium density fiberboard) around our pillar. It gives it a cool look and style. This idea we got out of Dwell, its definitely the best magazine our there for modern style living.





In the last couple of days I have put down a new plywood subfloor in order to smooth things out for the bamboo flooring.






And finally we have finished painting the first floor (ceilings and walls)...well mostly finished. Cate (a friend of ours) was kind enough to come over and help us get it all done this past Sunday.

Making news

So our up and coming neighbourhood has been getting a little attention lately. The Financial Times of London recently interviewed Melina about Hintonburg, the article should be out in another couple of weeks.

In another recent article Westboro, the neighbourhood next to us has been named the most desireable neighbourhood in Canada....good news as those who can't afford the most desireable neighbourhood in Canada may want to live next door to it....and I might add even closer to downtown Ottawa.

For those of you who fly Air Canada, make sure you pick up enRoute. The magazine has recently featured the hottest neighbourhoods in Canada and to toot our own horn, Hintonburg made the list.

Here is the section on Hintonburg (here is the link to the rest of the article www.enroutemag.com/e/april07/cover_a.html). Helen's is at the end of our street the Carleton is a few blocks away and one of our favourte watering holes, the Cube is also around the corner and is the location of our wedding reception.

Hintonbourg, Ottawa

Named after Joseph Hinton – the guy who secured the first post office here in the mid-1800s – this former down-market district has gotten an upmarket comb-over.

By Fateema Sayani

7:00 With heirloom tomatoes, purple beans and micro-greens from the Bryson Farms stall at the Ottawa Parkdale Market in hand, early birds head north to Remic Rapids Park to watch the sun rise over John-Félice Ceprano’s freestanding rock sculptures. Mind the joggers and dog walkers.

10:00 Shoppers drop the best friend at Dogz, a place for pup pampering and daycare, then head over to Ravensara for collectible tin toys. A Fine Thing has antiques galore, including mid-century favourite Fiestaware.

12:00 The back of the Melrose Groceteria houses Helen’s Cuisine, a lunch counter serving shawarma, tabouli, delicious baklava – and pot roast.

15:00 Upstart galleries abound. Cube Gallery is home to locally established modern artists. The space – an old soda factory – is perfect for lingering. James Robinson, the owner of nearby Parkdale Gallery, paints on-site, while the one-room Pukka Gallery, housed inside artist co-op the Engine Room, changes exhibitions monthly.

17:00 While occasionally reclaimed as a hipster hovel for rock shows, the Carleton Tavern is a good old dive with decor to match.

18:00 Visiting cookbook authors teach the fundamentals of Slow Food or molecular gastronomy at the Urban Element, a retrofitted fire hall with an industrial kitchen. Bonus: Eat your work with your new pals and take recipes home. Don’t want to do the work? Sail over to Hino Restaurant for fine Asian-fusion cuisine.

“If Hintonburg were a person, it would be someone who’s a lot of fun and a great laugh but goes to bed early.”

– Don Monet, curator of Cube Gallery